Balancing the Cultivation of New Drivers of Growth and the Upgrading of Old Drivers of Growth

At present, China is in a critical period of economic transformation and upgrading. Properly handling the relationship between new and old drivers of growth is of great significance for achieving effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth of the economy. The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that we must balance the cultivation of new drivers of growth and the upgrading of old drivers of growth, and develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions. This reflects the Party's deepening understanding of the laws governing economic work and helps promote a stable upward trend in the economy, continuous improvement in its structure, and a sustained positive development momentum.

当前，我国正处于经济转型升级的关键期，正确处理新旧动能的关系，对于实现经济质的有效提升和量的合理增长，具有重要意义。中央经济工作会议提出，必须统筹好培育新动能和更新旧动能的关系，因地制宜发展新质生产力。这体现了我们党对经济工作的规律性认识不断深化，有助于推动经济稳定向上、结构不断向优、发展态势持续向好。

Scientifically grasping the connotations of new and old drivers of growth

科学把握新旧动能内涵

To balance the cultivation of new drivers of growth and the upgrading of old drivers of growth, we must first grasp the connotations of new and old drivers of growth. In the stage of high-quality development, cultivating new drivers of growth means giving play to the role of innovation-driven development, developing strategic emerging industries, and making forward-looking arrangements for future industries. Upgrading old drivers of growth focuses on promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries through innovation.

统筹好培育新动能和更新旧动能的关系，首先需要把握新旧动能的内涵。在高质量发展阶段，培育新动能就是要发挥创新驱动作用，发展战略性新兴产业和前瞻布局未来产业，更新旧动能重点是要通过创新推动传统产业转型升级。

New drivers of growth are advanced productive forces led by innovation, breaking away from traditional development models, and the relations of production that are compatible with these advanced productive forces. Compared with old drivers of growth, the core feature of new drivers of growth is innovation-driven development. In the past period, China mainly relied on increasing the quantity of capital and labor input to drive economic development, at a relatively high cost in resources and the environment. As China's economic development environment has changed and its level has improved, the imbalance between supply and demand has generally shifted from supply shortage to insufficient demand. The momentum of development driven by the expansion of factor input quantities is weakening, and economic development needs to shift from factor-driven to innovation-driven development. High-quality development is development that embodies the new development philosophy. Adhering to innovation-driven development and promoting the transformation of development momentum are important tasks of high-quality development and also the basis for promoting long-term sustained and stable economic growth in China.

新动能是由创新主导、摆脱传统发展模式的先进生产力和与先进生产力相适应的生产关系。与旧动能相比，新动能的核心标志是创新驱动。过去一个时期，我国推动经济发展主要靠资本、劳动投入数量增加，付出的资源环境代价较大。随着我国经济发展环境变化、水平提升，供需之间的不平衡总体由供给短缺转向需求不足，依靠要素投入量扩张驱动发展的动能正在弱化，经济发展需要从要素驱动转向创新驱动。高质量发展是体现新发展理念的发展，坚持创新驱动、推动发展动能转换是高质量发展的重要任务，也是推动我国经济长期持续稳定增长的基础。

The key to cultivating new drivers of growth lies in vigorously developing strategic emerging industries, making forward-looking arrangements for future industries, and continuously opening up new fields and new tracks. By investing in new industries, new forms of business, new models, and new types of infrastructure, we promote the integrated and clustered development of strategic emerging industries and create a number of new growth engines, such as the new generation of information technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, new energy, new materials, high-end equipment, and green environmental protection. In recent years, China has adopted a series of measures to support strategic emerging industries and future industries, achieving significant results. It has implemented an insurance compensation policy for the first set (first set) of major technical equipment, with the central government subsidizing 80% of the insurance premiums for insured enterprises, supporting the market application of more than 30,000 sets (units) of major technical equipment. It has deeply implemented the national strategic emerging industry cluster development project, the "East Data West Computing" project [1]1 The "East Data West Computing" project is a national initiative to channel computing resource demand from China's eastern regions to its western regions, which have abundant clean energy and cooler climates, to optimize data center infrastructure and promote digital development., and the industrial innovation project, so that the development of strategic emerging industries is moving from point breakthroughs to systemic capability improvement. It has vigorously supported the construction of new application scenarios in fields such as artificial intelligence, biological manufacturing, future energy, and quantum technology, and the international competitiveness of future industries is steadily improving.

培育新动能，关键在大力发展战略性新兴产业，前瞻布局未来产业，不断开辟新领域、新赛道。通过投资新产业、新业态、新模式、新型基础设施，推动战略性新兴产业融合集群发展，打造新一代信息技术、人工智能、生物技术、新能源、新材料、高端装备、绿色环保等一批新的增长引擎。近年来，我国采取一系列举措支持战略性新兴产业和未来产业发展，取得明显成效。实施首台（套）重大技术装备保险补偿政策，中央财政对投保企业保费的80%给予补贴，累计支持3万多台（套）重大技术装备的市场应用；深入实施国家战略性新兴产业集群发展工程、“东数西算”工程、产业创新工程，战略性新兴产业发展正在由点的突破迈向系统能力提升；大力支持人工智能、生物制造、未来能源、量子科技等领域新场景建设，未来产业国际竞争力正在稳步提升。

The key to upgrading old drivers of growth lies in promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. Traditional industries, especially traditional manufacturing, are important carriers for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, important channels for absorbing employment, important sources of tax revenue, and important fields for international trade. They occupy an important position in the national economy. The added value of traditional manufacturing industries such as petrochemicals, chemicals, steel, non-ferrous metals, building materials, machinery, automobiles, light industry, and textiles still accounts for a large proportion of the total manufacturing industry and is an important foundation for supporting national economic development and meeting people's living needs. However, the problems of traditional manufacturing being "large but not strong" and "comprehensive but not refined" remain prominent, with an oversupply of low-end products and insufficient supply of high-end products coexisting, weak innovation capacity, a weak industrial foundation, tightening resource constraints, rising factor costs, and greater challenges in consolidating and enhancing competitive advantages. Promoting the transformation of new and old drivers of growth does not mean simply eliminating traditional industries, but rather, through equipment renewal and transformation, increasing support for technological breakthroughs in "bottleneck" areas [2]2 "Bottleneck" (卡脖子) refers to key technologies or areas where China faces external restrictions or lacks self-sufficiency, posing risks to industrial security., improving quality and efficiency, enhancing the adaptability of supply and demand, and promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. Practice has proven that promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries still has great potential. The steel industry is a typical traditional industry. In recent years, many steel companies have continuously improved their economic and environmental benefits through digital transformation and intelligent upgrading. For example, Shougang Co., Ltd. Qian'an Iron and Steel Company launched a full-process visualization of molten iron transportation and a vertical large-model system for temperature drop of molten iron. The temperature drop of molten iron decreased by 42%, the turnover rate of torpedo ladles increased by approximately 125%, and annual cost reduction exceeded 70 million yuan.

更新旧动能，关键在推动传统产业转型升级。传统产业，特别是传统制造业是科技成果转化的重要载体、吸纳就业的重要渠道、创造税收的重要来源、开展国际贸易的重要领域，在国民经济中占有重要地位。石化化工、钢铁、有色、建材、机械、汽车、轻工、纺织等传统制造业增加值占全部制造业的比重仍然较大，是支撑国民经济发展和满足人民生活需要的重要基础。但传统制造业“大而不强”“全而不精”问题依然突出，低端供给过剩和高端供给不足并存，创新能力不强、产业基础不牢，资源约束趋紧、要素成本上升，巩固提升竞争优势面临较大挑战。推动新旧动能转换，不是要简单淘汰传统产业，而是要通过设备更新改造，加大对“卡脖子”领域技术攻关支持，提升质量和效益、提升供给与需求的适配性，推动传统产业实现转型升级。实践证明，推动传统产业转型升级，仍然大有可为。钢铁行业是典型的传统行业，近年来不少钢铁公司通过数字化改造、智能化转型，经济效益、环境效益不断提升。如首钢股份公司迁安钢铁公司上线铁水运输全流程可视化与铁水温降垂类大模型系统，铁水温降降幅达42%，鱼雷罐周转率增幅约125%，每年降本逾7000万元。

Theoretically, there are multiple ways to transform new and old drivers of growth. One is to continuously expand new drivers while maintaining old ones; another is to completely abandon old drivers and replace them entirely with new ones; and a third is to cultivate new drivers on the one hand and upgrade old drivers on the other. The first two methods do not integrate new and old drivers, which not only affects the efficiency of resource allocation and the speed of transformation of new and old drivers but also easily causes large fluctuations in the economy and even creates a vacuum period for drivers of growth. The third method better balances the relationship between cultivating new drivers and upgrading old drivers, which is conducive to the stable and long-term development of the economy, but it requires certain conditions. This condition is that the industrial system is relatively complete, with diverse and multi-layered industrial types. Against the backdrop of international competition, China's industries include follower-type, catch-up-type, parallel-running-type, leading-type, and lane-changing-overtaking-type [3]3 "Lane-changing overtaking" (换道超车) is a metaphor for developing new industries or technologies to bypass competition in traditional fields and achieve leadership.. The development drivers of different types of industries are different. Parallel-running-type, leading-type, and lane-changing-overtaking-type industries focus on cultivating new drivers, while follower-type and catch-up-type industries focus on upgrading old drivers. Different types of industries are suited to different demands, involve different stakeholders, and have different regional distribution patterns. Balancing the cultivation of new drivers and the upgrading of old drivers creates new advantages for economic development through the dual-wheel drive.

从理论上讲，新旧动能转换存在多种方式，一种是在维持旧动能的同时，把新动能不断做大；一种是完全抛弃旧动能，用新动能完全替代旧动能；还有一种是一方面培育新动能，另一方面更新旧动能。前两种方式新旧动能没有融合，不仅会影响资源配置效率、新旧动能转换速度，还容易造成经济大幅波动，甚至形成动能空档期。第三种方式较好统筹了培育新动能和更新旧动能的关系，有利于经济行稳致远，但需具备一定的条件，这个条件就是产业体系相对完整，产业类型多样、层次丰富。在国际竞争的大背景下，我国的产业既有跟随型、追赶型，也有并跑型、领先型，还有换道超车型等，不同类型产业的发展动能不同，并跑型、领先型、换道超车型重在培育新动能，跟随型、追赶型重在更新旧动能。不同类型产业适配不同需求，涉及不同利益主体，有不同的区域分布格局，统筹好培育新动能和更新旧动能的关系，在双轮驱动中塑造经济发展新优势。

Focusing on the main direction and key tasks

聚焦主攻方向重点任务

The smooth transition and transformation of new and old drivers of growth is a process. It is necessary to accurately explore the main direction and key tasks of cultivating new drivers and upgrading old drivers, so that traditional industries can continuously radiate new vitality, and emerging industries and future industries can continuously inject new momentum and new advantages into economic development.

新旧动能的平稳接续转换是一个过程，要精准探寻培育新动能和更新旧动能的主攻方向和重点任务，让传统产业不断焕发新的生机活力，让新兴产业和未来产业持续为经济发展注入新动能新优势。

Firmly grasp the "ox nose" of innovation [4]4 "Ox nose" (牛鼻子) is a Chinese idiom meaning the key point or lever that can control the overall situation.. Both cultivating new drivers and upgrading old drivers require innovation-driven development. Currently, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is deepening, the paradigm of global scientific and technological innovation is undergoing profound changes, and artificial intelligence is becoming a key force driving innovation. We should give full play to the role of artificial intelligence in driving scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, both promoting the cultivation of new drivers and helping to upgrade old drivers. Increase investment in basic research, drive industrial innovation with scientific and technological innovation, and continuously provide scientific and technological support for cultivating new drivers and upgrading old drivers. Give full play to the institutional advantage of concentrating resources to accomplish large tasks, optimize the layout of national-level science and technology innovation platforms in the manufacturing field, such as the National Manufacturing Innovation Center, the Industrial Innovation Center, and the National Engineering Research Center, encourage key common technology research and industrial application demonstrations in key areas, promote major scientific and technological breakthroughs, and achieve rapid breakthroughs and rapid application of key technologies. Encourage enterprises as the main body to jointly establish R&D institutions with universities and research institutes, focus on weak areas such as basic components, basic components, basic materials, basic software, basic processes, and industrial technology foundations, accelerate breakthroughs, and promote the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation. Give full play to the role of scenario-driven innovation, enhance scenario innovation capabilities, and drive the development of strategic emerging industries and future industries with scenario innovation. According to the type and stage of innovation activities, optimize government functions, release market potential, improve relevant mechanisms, and make good use of policy tools.

紧紧抓住创新这个牛鼻子。无论是培育新动能，还是更新旧动能，都需要创新驱动。当前，新一轮科技革命和产业变革深入发展，全球科技创新范式正在发生深刻变革，人工智能正成为驱动创新的关键力量。要充分发挥人工智能在驱动科技创新、产业创新方面的作用，既促进培育新动能，也助力更新旧动能。加大基础研究投入力度，以科技创新带动产业创新，为培育新动能、更新旧动能持续提供科技支撑。充分发挥集中力量办大事的制度优势，优化国家制造业创新中心、产业创新中心、国家工程研究中心等制造业领域国家级科技创新平台布局，鼓励面向重点领域开展关键共性技术研究和产业化应用示范，推动重大科技攻关，实现关键技术的快速突破、快速应用。鼓励以企业为主体，与高校、科研院所共建研发机构，聚焦基础零部件、基础元器件、基础材料、基础软件、基础工艺和产业技术基础等薄弱领域，加快攻关突破，促进科技创新和产业创新深度融合。充分发挥场景驱动创新作用，提升场景创新能力，以场景创新带动战略性新兴产业和未来产业的发展。根据创新活动的类型和阶段，优化政府职能、释放市场潜力，完善相关机制，用好政策工具。

Improve the market-based mechanism for the transformation of new and old drivers of growth. Build an investment and financing system and mechanism that is compatible with the high-level socialist market economy system. In the transformation of new and old drivers of growth, give full play to the role of government investment in enabling, leveraging, and guiding social investment. Guide financial institutions to increase credit support for developing new drivers and upgrading old drivers, providing sufficient funding guarantees for the cultivation of new drivers and the upgrading of old drivers. Accelerate the optimization and adjustment of the layout of the state-owned economy, structural adjustment, and strategic reorganization, promote state-owned enterprises to take the lead in eliminating inefficient and backward production capacity, and give play to the leading role of state-owned capital in balancing the cultivation of new drivers and the upgrading of old drivers. Improve policies to support the reform and development of private enterprises, protect the property rights of private enterprises and the rights and interests of entrepreneurs equally according to law, promote the accelerated transformation and upgrading of private enterprises, and support them in exploring new fields, new technologies, and new markets. Remove institutional and mechanism obstacles that restrict the free flow of factors such as labor, technology, and data, resolutely abolish policies and measures that hinder a unified market and fair competition, accelerate the construction of a unified national market, and enhance the endogenous driving force for the transformation of new and old drivers of growth.

健全新旧动能转换的市场化机制。构建与高水平社会主义市场经济体制相适应的投融资体制机制，在新旧动能转换中，发挥好政府投资对社会投资的赋能、撬动、引导作用。引导金融机构加大对发展新动能和转型升级旧动能的信贷支持力度，为新动能的培育和旧动能的更新提供充足资金保障。加快国有经济布局优化、结构调整和战略性重组，推动国有企业率先淘汰低效落后产能，发挥国有资本在统筹培育新动能和更新旧动能中的引领性作用。健全支持民营企业改革发展政策，依法平等保护民营企业产权和企业家权益，推动民营企业加快转型升级，支持其探索新领域、新技术、新市场。破除制约劳动力、技术、数据等要素自由流动的体制机制障碍，坚决废除妨碍统一市场和公平竞争的政策措施，加快全国统一大市场建设，增强新旧动能转换的内生动力。

Give full play to the enabling role of new types of factors. Increase efforts to cultivate and develop new forms of factors, cultivate new types of workers, create new types of means of labor, and expand new objects of labor. Promote the organic integration of new types of factors with traditional factors, and give play to the enabling role of data factors and artificial intelligence technology on other production factors. Vigorously promote the intelligent transformation, digital transformation, and network connectivity of enterprises, support the digital transformation of production equipment, and accelerate the deep integration of information technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, 5G, and the Internet of Things with the entire process and all factors of manufacturing. Promote traditional industries to upgrade all links such as production and sales with the help of advanced technologies, promoting the development of industries towards green, intelligent, and high-end directions. On the one hand, stabilize the scale of existing industries and employment; on the other hand, foster new momentum for innovation and development within traditional industries. Promote the construction of digital workshops and smart factories in a scenario-based manner, and establish a number of typical benchmarks for digital transformation. Guided by national advanced manufacturing clusters, promote the upgrading of digital infrastructure in national high-tech zones and science and technology industrial parks, and promote the digital transformation of industrial clusters.

充分发挥新型要素的赋能作用。加大力度培育发展新型要素形态，培养新型劳动者、创造新型劳动资料、拓展新的劳动对象。推动新型要素与传统要素有机融合，发挥数据要素、人工智能技术对其他生产要素的赋能作用。大力推进企业智改数转网联，支持生产设备数字化改造，加快人工智能、大数据、云计算、5G、物联网等信息技术与制造全过程、全要素深度融合。推动传统产业借助先进技术对生产、销售等各环节进行升级，促进产业向绿色化智能化高端化方向迈进，一方面稳定现有产业规模与就业，另一方面在传统产业中孕育创新发展的新动能。以场景化方式推动数字化车间和智能工厂建设，树立一批数字化转型的典型标杆。以国家先进制造业集群为引领，推动国家高新区、科技产业园区等升级数字基础设施，促进产业集群数字化转型。

Develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions. Developing new quality productive forces requires both balancing the cultivation of new drivers and the upgrading of old drivers and provides guidance for them. The conditions and capabilities for cultivating new drivers vary from region to region, and the foundations of old drivers also differ. Therefore, the methods, paths, and policy measures for cultivating new drivers and upgrading old drivers cannot be exactly the same. We must combine the actual conditions of each locality, based on resource endowments, industrial foundations, and technological capabilities, and choose suitable development paths for new quality productive forces. We must not deviate from reality, blindly follow trends, adopt a single model, or "all rush to act" or "all rush to retreat." Regions rich in scientific and technological resources and talent can focus on cultivating high-tech industries and modern service industries, while regions with a concentration of traditional industries should focus on using science and technology to empower industrial upgrading, forming a strong driving force for economic growth.

因地制宜发展新质生产力。发展新质生产力既需要统筹培育新动能和更新旧动能，又对其具有引领性。各地培育新动能的条件、能力不同，旧动能的基础不同，因而培育新动能、更新旧动能的方式、路径、政策举措也不可能完全相同。要结合各地客观实际，根据资源禀赋、产业基础、技术能力，选择合适的新质生产力发展路径，不能脱离实际、盲目跟风，不能搞一种模式，不能“一哄而上”“一哄而下”。科技资源丰富、人才集聚的地区，可以重点培育高新技术产业和现代服务业，传统产业集聚的地区则要注重利用科技赋能产业升级，形成拉动经济增长的强大动力。

(The author is a Distinguished Researcher at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Deputy Director of the Institute of Industrial Economics.)

（作者系中国社会科学院习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心特约研究员、工业经济研究所副所长）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧